Wednesday, December 23, 2015

My New Pycnoscelus Species!

Here are my new Pycnoscelus species, P.femapterus and P.nigra.

I have about four of the shadow roaches, Pycnoscelus nigra, which is a small amount of roaches to start a colony with, too small for some species. Luckily this species is parthenogenic, just like P.surinamensis, so you only need one to reach adulthood to start a whole colony. This species is pretty easy to care for, so I think they should all reach adulthood with no problems.

I am keeping them in a medium sized plastic container with coconut fiber as the substrate and some dead leaves on top. It seems that this whole genus likes to burrow, so they do not need much in the way of decor, just a fairly deep substrate to burrow in. I will be feeding them dog/cat food, fruits and veggies. These guys will eat just about anything.

Here are some pictures of the nymphs:






Can't wait until these guys mature, the adults are a nice black color, with reddish brown legs.

I have about 18 or so of the wingless female roach, Pycnoscelus femapterus. These guys are not parthenogenic, males and females are present. The males look like a smaller, thinner version of a Surinam roach. Females are wingless, and basically look like nymphs, unlike the winged males. They are being kept the same as the P.nigra.

Here are some pictures, I was not able to get pics of the males, they are very skittish.

Nymphs or adult females



These guys are supposed to be quite prolific, so I expect to see babies soon.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and I wish you all happy holidays! :)

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